Senior Associate, Rwanda

Reporting directly to the Manager, Rwanda and working closely with Aceli colleagues across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and the United States, the Senior Associate will provide operational, coordination, and administrative support that amplifies Aceli's impact and learning with lenders, technical assistance providers, data and learning organisations, industry associations, donors, and policymakers. The ideal candidate has experience in project coordination, stakeholder engagement, data management, and program reporting in agricultural development, financial inclusion, or SME finance.

Responsibilities

Lead outreach and communication with lending partners across Aceli's financial incentive and capacity building programs in Rwanda; Coordinate onboarding of Rwandan Lenders into the Aceli Network and relationship management; Support branch-level activation with partner banks; Coordinate follow-up with agricultural SMEs in Aceli's Technical Assistance (TA) programs; Maintain updated contact lists, meeting notes, and records of partner engagement; Plan and support lender and SME engagement activities, training sessions, and workshops; Liaise with TA referral partners and maintain documentation of referrals and outcomes; Support the execution of TA events, investor pitch sessions, and lender-SME matchmaking; Collect and verify SME and lender data for monitoring and reporting; Support impact assessments, site visits, and partner learning activities; Coordinate Gender Lens Investing (GLI) initiatives and capacity building sessions with partners; Plan and execute Aceli Rwanda events, including guest lists, invitations, confirmations, and logistics; Support local team retreats, field visits, and partner meetings; Enter and update partner data in Aceli's systems, including Salesforce and Power BI, while ensuring data accuracy; Troubleshoot system issues with the Product and Operations teams; Compile data and inputs for donor and internal reports; Maintain records of project activities, event attendance, and partner interactions; Coordinate scheduling, logistics, and documentation for Rwanda policy engagements; Support Aceli's partnership with the Rwanda Bankers Association; Lead stakeholder engagement preparation through background research, briefing notes, presentations, speaking points, and meeting summaries; Track regulatory developments across Rwanda's three priority reform areas and provide timely updates on implications for Aceli's Rwanda work; Ensure timely follow-up on agreed actions with internal teams and external stakeholders; Support coordination of internal evidence, data, and program learning to inform policy engagements, reporting, and progress against the Rwanda policy workplan

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Development Studies, Economics, Business Administration, or related field; Minimum of 5 years of experience in SME finance, project coordination, stakeholder engagement, relationship management or donor-funded program implementation; Strong organisational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously; Proficiency in MS Office Suite; experience with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) or data dashboards (e.g., Power BI); Excellent written and verbal English communication skills; Working proficiency in Kinyarwanda is required; Team-oriented, proactive, and able to work effectively with minimal supervision; Right to live and work in Rwanda

Nice to have

Experience in lending within the banking industry, agricultural finance, SME development, or financial inclusion programs in Rwanda or the wider East African region; Working proficiency in French